The atmosphere at their home stadium was far from happy this past Saturday. Lazio were trailing against Torino, an opponent that had allowed ten goals while managing only two goals in their most recent five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in an ongoing feud with club owner Claudio Lotito.
The Campaign Unraveling?
Was the team's progress falling apart, or did there exist a binding element holding it together to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team during the off-season, only for him to later acknowledge that the management had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Reports that he could resign were not true, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "misled" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized during matches as off the field, beating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the remaining first five games, including the Rome derby. At any given moment, observers have struggled to tell if they are improving or self-destructing.
The Youngster's Unforeseen Comeback
A single player kept smiling through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to feature for Lazio this year. He completed last season with Parma on loan and, early this summer, his owning club were attempting to remain there a while longer. The transfer ban forced a rethink. They were unable to thin their squad lacking backup options.
He signed initially under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old alumnus of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances with the club in 2022-23, almost all of those from the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "informing all Cancellieri would be a star then never playing him."
Discovering His Best Role
Maybe Sarri was continuing to attempt to identify the exact type of his skill set. Billed as a flank player upon signing, Cancellieri nevertheless spent the majority of that term as a struggling deputy to Ciro Immobile as center forward. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma in the past two years, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
